sorellaforte

As we begin the new year and reinvigorate our enthusiasm for cycling, we would like to take a moment to highlight our new premiere team sponsor – St. Honoré Boulangerie – and the man behind that business, Dominique Geulin.

Sorella Forte (SF): How did you get involved in cycling?

Dominique Geulin (DG): Growing up in France, cycling has always been part of my life. I used to ride with my friends and father, and I watch big cycling races like Tour de France in Normandy. It’s a big part of French culture.

SF: What attracted you to Sorella Forte as a team to sponsor?

DG: Because it’s an all-women’s team. I really like Sorella Forte’s team philosophy and spirit. Sorella Forte is also trying to bring as many women as possible to cycling.

SF: What is important to you about the cycling community and sponsoring an all women cycling team?

DG: Being a part of cycling community brings me back to my roots. It’s great to see the same sport activities that I grew up with in France, here in Portland and Lake Oswego as well. I’d like to help open up the door to other sport activities outside more traditional sports in the U.S. (such as basketball and football) that have been predominantly male.

Women in sports can have a big impact on a community’s revitalization that is too often associated with male-only sport activities.

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A little bit about Master Baker, Dominique Geulin

Dominique Geulin’s passion for baking took root in the coastal Normandy town of Etretat. As a young boy, living above the family bakery, he learned the secrets to traditional bread baking from his father, Hubert.

After high school, Dominique enrolled in The Baking School, in nearby Rouen. There, he was noticed and invited to move to Portland, Oregon in the early 80s to help open Le Panier, an authentic French bakery in Old Town. It was during this stay in the Pacific Northwest that Dominique began to appreciate the Northwest lifestyle. After five years in Portland, Dominique returned to France and the family bakery. During this time, he also consulted to specialty French bakeries around the world from Africa to Asia. He continues to work closely with some of the most prestigious French bakeries in Japan.

Later came technical training at the American Institute of Baking in Kansas. After graduation in 1990, while waiting for a work permit to return to Portland, Dominique, 27, entered France’s most prestigious competition “Meilleur Ouvrier de France” to honor the country’s best artisan craftspeople and promote France’s long tradition of knowledge and artistry. After constructing a bread sculpture of the Eiffel Tower and executing a strenuous baking test for two days, Dominique received the award of Meilleur Ouvrier de France in the boulangerie category from late French President François Mitterand in 1990.

In 1991, Dominique returned to Portland where he eventually met and married his wife, Stephanie. Together, in December 2003, they opened St. Honoré, their own French bakery. “It was and still is an awe-inspiring endeavor, but one we love.” Dominique, Stephanie, and their two young sons, Thomas and Matthew, have found a niche in Portland and have become true members of the community. Dominique also takes his bread baking techniques to the public with baking classes at In Good Taste, demos at the Portland Farmer’s Market’s popular Summerloaf bread festival, and daily interaction with customers in his open-air kitchen.

“The Pacific Northwest has so much bounty here and we are committed to using sustainable ingredients in all our pastries and breads. I’ve come far from Normandy, but I am still living up to my family’s high standards – at least, when it comes to baking.”